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“If we lose the Bucks, if we lose the arena, the collateral damage that will happen is very, very easy to see,” Calderone Club owner Gino Fazzari said.

Local restaurant owners joined the state Restaurant Association in calling on lawmakers to back the arena deal and got a high-profile boost from MillerCoors.

“We urge the legislators to keep this team in Milwaukee and in Wisconsin,” MillerCoors General Manager of Sales Jim Ryan said.

Big issues typically bring out big lobbying efforts, but normally behind the scenes at the Capitol. But with initiatives like the Play it Forward drive, the arena campaign has been very much in the public spotlight.

“We want people to make an informed vote. We want them to hear from their constituents. We want them to know what's at stake here,” said Steve Baas of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce.

But what's not clear yet is whether the out-in-the-open lobbying blitz will show results.

Another Milwaukee Democrat, state Sen. Tim Carpenter, who represents the southwest side, told WISN 12 News reporter Kent Wainscott he's listening to his constituents who he said don't like the arena deal.